REWATI AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment of mine shall dispose of two appeals, that is, R.F.A. Nos. 1497 and 1498 of 1982 as they arise out of a common Award of the Additional District Judge dated August 24, 1982. By the Awards under challenge, the market value of the acquired land has been determined at Rs. 12.50 per square years . However, the Appellant -claimants have been granted compensation at the rate of Rs. 6/ - per square yard only as according to the Additional District Judge they made this much claim in their applications under Section 18 of the Land acquisition Act (for short 'the Act'). In other words, the Additional District Judge was of the view that although the market value of the acquired land was Rs. 12.50 per square yard as was determined in Exhibits A.1 and A.2 - -the two Awards given earlier, yet the Appellants would not be granted the compensation at the aforesaid rate as they did not claim beyond Rs. 6/ - per square yard in their applications under Section 18 of the Act.

(2.) AFTER hearing the learned Counsel for the parties, I am of the view that the finding of the Additional District Judge can neither be sustained in law nor on facts. A bare perusal of the application under Section 18 of the Act would make it clear that the Petitioners had stated therein that the Award has been made in which the Appellants were persons interested in the land which has been acquired and that the Appellant -claimants were aggrieved by the Award which they did not accept and requested the Collector to refer the case to the Civil Court under Section 18 of the Act for determination of the question of valuation and compensation on the grounds stated in the reference application. In Ground No. (a) was stated that the land acquired had been greatly undervalued and that its market value should have been held to be not less than Rs. (Sic)/ - per square yard. At the end of the reference application, no prayer had been made to the effect that Rs. 6/ per square yard may be granted to the claimants. In view of the averments made in the reference application, it cannot be said that any request was made that the claimants be granted compensation at the rate of Rs. 6/ - per square yard. The Additional District Judge was reading something more in the application which is not mentioned therein. This is one aspect of the matter.

(3.) IN a nut shell this Court is of the view that no request is generally made to the Collector while seeking reference under Section 18 of the Act for the grant of compensation and if such a request is made, the same will not bind the claimant. This Court is further of the view that the question of determination of appropriate compensation lies within the domain of the Civil Court after a reference is made by the Collector. The claims are filed by persons interested in reply to the notice served under Section 9 of the Act. If at all, an interested person could have been legally bound down to this claim, the same could only be done if such a claim had been made in reply to the notice under Section 25 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1984. This was the legal position on account of a specific provision having been made in Section 25 of the unamended Land Acquisition Act which is reproduced below: